Forever and Always, Right?
by BigLadyPotter
Summary: Things are absolutely perfect for Lauren and James. But it's always when things are perfectly right that they go perfectly wrong. Sequel to I See Sparks Fly.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! I just want to let you know before you start reading this that it is a sequel to my story **_**I See Sparks Fly**_**. So if you haven't read that, I suggest you do that first before reading this, otherwise major plot points will be revealed! :)**

**Chapter 1:**

As I step out of the limo door and look at the large house in front of me, I can't help but feel relief at finally being home. Being on tour is so much fun and I loved meeting all of my fans, but it can feel like forever when you're away from your home for 5 months. Especially being away from the love of your life for that long.

I hear someone scream my name before they start running towards me. I drop my bags and run towards Rachel, hugging her as soon as we reach each other. "I've missed you so much!"

I step back and hold Rachel at arms length away and take in the changes in her appearance. Clearly she's been in the sun a lot or has made another trip to Hawaii since her skin is much more tan. And she's added purple highlights which look fantastic with her black hair. "Well don't you look different."

She shrugs as we turn to start walking back to the limo to grab my bags. She takes two before heading back towards the house. "My manager wanted to try something new and it turns out everyone loves it." Rachel sets the bags down in the front foyer at the bottom of the grand staircase and turns to look at me. "But enough about me. How was your tour?"

I smile as I drop my bags. "Exhausting. But so much fun. Now, let's get going so we can get to the airport and I can see my husband again."

Rachel shouts in excitement as she runs out the door, just as excited as I am to see the guys again. She wasn't the only one kept away from the love of her life for five months.

"When was the last time you talked to Carlos?" I ask her as we walk to my garage and get in my car.

"Last night, but technically it was morning over there in London."

As I drive away from James and I's house, I can't help but think about the tour. Gustavo conveniently planned for me to go on tour at the same time as the guys so we wouldn't have to be separated for even longer. Surprising, right? My uncle actually did something nice for once.

So Kelly went with me and Gustavo with the guys as I toured North America and the guys had another world tour for five long months. I was okay with being separated from James for the first month, but then it got to be so hard to continue on the tour away from him. Yeah, we talked every single day, but it's not the same as having him there next to me, to hug whenever I want, just to show how much I love him. Or kiss whenever I remember how lucky I am to call him mine.

But at least the tour is over and I'll be seeing James in under an hour. Don't get me wrong, I love performing and it does feel weird to not know what's going to happen next for my career right now. I just need some personal time now.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I glance over at her briefly before turning back to the road. "James. Being on tour. James."

I can feel her staring at me as I pull into the airport parking lot. She doesn't say anything until I've parked the car and look at her. "You really missed him, didn't you?"

I sigh before answering her. "Yeah I did. It's tough being away from someone you love so much for so long."

"Well you don't have to wait much longer. Let's go see our boys," Rachel says with a smile as she opens her door and steps out.

I follow behind her as we walk into the airport and head towards arrivals to meet the guys. We sit down at a table without being recognized by anyone and are left waiting for the guys to arrive. A glance at one of the TVs shows that their flight is on time, so they should be getting here in about 20 minutes.

"I'm going to go get some coffee. Do you want anything?" I ask Rachel after staring at my phone for a minute, willing time to move faster.

"The usual."

"Alright," I reply as I stand up and walk over to the Starbucks just a little bit down the airport. Unsurprisingly there's a long line, and by time I get back with our drinks, ten minutes have passed.

"So Lauren, I set up everything for your romantic evening with James. And somehow I still had time to set up something for Carlos and I," Rachel says when I hand her drink to her.

"Thanks for doing that. I would have done it myself, but I had no time between when I got home and when the guys' flight arrives." I pause and glance at one of the TVs and realize they should be here any minute. I set my coffee down and watch the entryway from baggage claim anxiously for when I'll see my four best friends.

I hear shrill screams and teen girls start running over and I know that the guys must be there. I try to walk over but security is blocking anyone from getting past. Rachel and I try pushing past them but they keep us there.

A very familiar voice shouts my name and someone else shouts Rachel's name and I duck under the security guard's arm and run towards James. He drops his bags to hug me right away and spins my around in circles and I can't help but laugh as his arms are finally around me again.

James sets me down and has the biggest smile on his face, exactly like on the day of our wedding. I smile up at him before he leans down and kisses me, pulling me closer to him. I half register the screaming girls as I put my arms around his neck, not wanting to let go of him. I only do pull away when I hear my uncle yell at us.

"Dogs, we're in an airport! Save it until you get home!" my uncle says annoyed as he pushes through fans. James looks at me and smirks at his comment. "Wait, I don't even want to know what you do at home. Just get your stuff and let's go!"

James grabs his bag before putting an arm around me and pulling me close. I lean up against him as we start walking out. "I missed you so much, Lauren. I love you," he says before leaning down and kissing my cheek.

"I love you too, James," I say and can't stop smiling over finally being back with James.

"Would you two stop being all lovey-dovey?" Logan jokingly asks from where he's walking behind us.

"I agree," Kendall adds from next to him.

"Well sorry that you two are single right now," James says sassily and I laugh lightly.

Carlos turns around to look at us. "Harsh, James. But so true."

We step outside to where a limo is waiting for the guys, except for James. "We'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" James asks as we start to head to where my car is parked.

"Ten thirty at the studio tomorrow. Don't be late, dogs," Gustavo says as he gets in the limo, followed by the guys and Rachel.

"I can't believe Gustavo made me be away from my wife for five months. It's ridiculous! Don't you agree, Mrs. Diamond?" James says as he puts his suitcases in my car. He turns around to smile at me.

I can't help and blush still about being called Mrs. Diamond. "I sure do agree. Now let's go get home and not be rushed around for the first time in months."

I get in my car and start it as James gets in the passenger seat. I turn the radio on as I'm backing out of my spot and James groans at the song playing. "Please change it. I don't want to hear this song again after performing it for the last five months."

I pout as I turn the volume up louder. "But I love Elevate. And it's my car, so I get to control what music we listen to."

James sits up and leans over towards me. "Face it. You just missed hearing my voice all the time."

I bite my lip to keep from blushing and keep my view on the road because I know if I turn to look at him, I'll give in to anything he says. "You're so conceited."

"You love me," he replies right away and I can almost hear the smirk just in his tone of voice.

"Maybe," I reply and wink at him before turning onto our street. I pull into our driveway and park my car in front. As I turn it off, I look over at him and smirk before running out of the car and towards the house. I get inside and run through the grand foyer towards the doors leading out back. I can hear him running after me and start laughing as I run onto the gazebo in the back and turn to wait for him.

James slows down as he approaches the gazebo and sees all of the candles and roses set up and the picnic basket in the middle. "What's this?" he asks me seriously.

I walk towards him and take both of his hands in mine. "I just thought we could have a romantic dinner since we haven't seen each other in months."

He places a hand lightly on my cheek before leaning down to kiss me lightly, but with so much passion. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Just a few times," I whisper before I kiss him again. I pull away and wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his shoulder, perfectly content with staying there forever.

James suddenly picks me up before sitting down and placing me on his lap. "We shouldn't let this food go to waste," he says but makes no effort to get it.

"Rachel might kill us if we did."

I can feel James shrug before he leans back, pulling me down with him. "Then let her. I just want to lay here with you all night."

I pick up my head to look up at him and smile at the perfect man in front of me. "Well I don't plan on moving anytime soon."

We sit in silence for several minutes as I just listen to his heart beat while his one hand runs over my hair.

"So how was your tour?" James speaks up after a while.

"Not as good as it could have been if you were there. But it was pretty awesome. Meeting the fans was my favorite part."

"I agree. I wish I could have brought you on stage every night for Worldwide."

"It doesn't matter," I say to him as I lean up and kiss him on the cheek. "I know you love me. I don't need you to bring me on stage and sing to me to prove it."

"But I like singing to you." James suddenly sits up, pulling me with him and I look at him confused.

"What's wrong?" I ask him concerned by his sudden change in attitude.

James doesn't respond but instead stands up and picks me up and starts walking towards the house.

"James, what are you doing?"

He sets me down when we're inside the house but doesn't let go of me. "I just want to show you how much I love you. Come on, I have something to show you."

James takes my hand and leads me to the front door and walks outside towards my car. He opens the trunk and takes one suitcase out and opens it. Inside is a whole collection of little trinkets saying a variety of city names. "What is this?" I ask as I crouch down to look closer.

"I got you a gift from every city we performed in. You were always on my mind, no matter where I was worldwide."

I stand up and put my arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him. He starts kissing back right away, just as passionately. "I," I pause to kiss him again. "Love-" another kiss. "You."

James moans before grabbing me and quickly walking into the house, barely breaking the kiss. "I've been away from you for way too long."

I agree entirely as James leads me up the staircase and I know there is no way I'm leaving James' side tonight.

**Yes, the time has finally come when I have started to write the sequel to I See Sparks Fly! –cue excited cheers- haha for a while now, I wasn't sure if I was going to end up writing a sequel. But then tonight I started writing a few sentences and I got hooked. Again. What can I say, I just love Lauren and James together :)**

**So let me know what you think! I've got plenty of drama and interesting twist to come with this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

My hands reach out subconsciously for the warm body that should be next to me as soon as I wake up. But I frown when I just feel empty bed sheet and open my eyes to realize that James really isn't there next to me.

I see a note sitting on his pillow and pick it up to read what James has wrote. _I'm downstairs making breakfast, love :)_

I smile about his note before swinging out of bed and throwing on a t shirt and a pair of James' shorts. I slowly start making my way downstairs, still tired from not enough sleep. The smell of bacon fills the house and makes me start walking a little faster. James knows how much I love bacon.

I enter the kitchen to see James putting omelets onto to plates. When he looks up and sees me, he smiles before walking around the table to kiss me. "I was just about to go wake you up. I didn't want you to wake up again without me being there. Not after 5 months of that."

I place a hand on his cheek before leaning up to kiss him briefly. "It doesn't matter. You're here right now and that's good enough for me."

"Good. Then let's eat these fantastic omelets that I made," he says and I chuckle lightly before sitting down across from him at the table.

I can't help but eat my food quickly since it's so good. James isn't exaggerating when he says he makes the best omelets. It's probably the only thing he can actually cook. I start laughing as I think about James cooking.

"What are you laughing at? Is there something on my face?" James starts to stand up to go to a mirror but I stop him.

"No I'm just thinking about the first time you tried to cook me food and completely burned it."

He grimaces at that time and I keep laughing at him while I try to eat my food. "Hey I have gotten way better at cooking! And that was three years ago."

"I know," I say and smile at him. "Now if you're done eating, you should start getting ready. I don't want my uncle to kill us if we're late to the studio."

James makes a face at this before pouting. "I don't want to see Gustavo. It was a nightmare having to be on tour with him for five months."

"But I'll be there with you this time. And I'm sure it won't be for very long. I bet he doesn't want to see you guys either."

James stands up and leans over the table to kiss me briefly. He's smiling at me when he pulls away. "How do you always find a way to be right all the time? Oh I know, because you're perfect." He pauses to go rinse his plate off before starting to leave the kitchen. He stops in the doorway to look back at me. "I love you."

"I love you too!" I shout behind him as he turns and leaves. I finish the rest of my food quickly and head upstairs to get ready since we have to leave in twenty minutes if we want to get to Rocque Records in time.

I walk in the bedroom as James is walking out of the connecting bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes linger on his abs and it takes all my will power to not jump on him right then and there. The sight of his defined muscles still slightly wet from the shower is too much.

When I finally meet James eyes, he's smirking at me. "Like what you see?"

He starts going through the dresser to get clothes as I'm still frozen staring at him. It has been way too long since I saw my husband.

"Most definitely," I reply to him as I head into the bathroom to start getting ready myself. I don't know why, but his cocky, confident attitude is very attractive to me.

I brush my teeth and pull my hair back in a ponytail before walking back into the bedroom to get dressed. James is fully dressed at this point and walks past me into the bathroom that I just left. "We don't have much time, so be quick James," I shout to him over my shoulder as I search through the closet for anything to wear.

After I have a t-shirt and jeans on, I sit on the bed and check my phone and see I have a message from Carlos. 'Can u come over after we go to the studio? Its super important!1!'

'Sure but what is it?' I ask him. I look up when I hear the bathroom door open and James steps out, ready to go. "Are you done getting ready?"

"Yep," he says as he grabs my hand and leads me out of the room and down the stair case. "So how much time off do you think Gustavo with give us?" James asks as we get in my car.

"You never really know with my uncle," I say as I pull out of the driveway and start heading towards downtown. "Everything he does is a surprise. I'm honestly surprised he's treating you better than he did at first."

James scoffs at this. "It only took over two years of me being married to you for that to happen." He pauses to turn the radio on and flips through the stations before finally settling on one. "So what do you want to do after we're done talking to Gustavo?"

I stare at the road guiltily and don't respond for a few seconds. "Carlos asked me to come over after. He said it was something really important." He's silent for a minute and it gets me worried. I turn to look at him as I stop at a red light to see him just staring out the window. "I'm sorry James. Don't think I'm blowing you off to hang out with him. He's one of my best friends."

"Whatever," James mutters before turning to look out the side window. He doesn't say anything else and just pouts as I continue driving.

"Really James? You're going to be all grumpy about this?" He doesn't respond as I pull into the parking lot and turn off the car. "Fine then. Be all pissy." I get out and slam the door, not waiting for James to walk with me.

I enter the building all frustrated and angrily push the button for the elevator. I don't know what his problem is. I'm just going to help Carlos out with something. No need for him to get all mad about it.

The elevator takes a minute to get down and I'm stuck waiting next to James for it. When the doors open, we both walk in and there's an awkward silence as the doors close.

"Look James-"

"Look Lauren-" he starts to say at the same time as me.

I stare at him for a second before laughing lightly. "You go ahead."

"Look, I'm sorry for getting grumpy. I was just upset that one of my best friends is taking away my time from you right after we just got back. I'm sorry."

I hug him as the doors open on our floor. "I understand. But that doesn't mean I'm happy with you being all sassy."

James takes my hand as we walk out of the elevator and head towards the studio. "I'm sorry but I couldn't help my jealousy."

We walk into the studio and see that everyone is already there. My uncle glares at us. "Dogs, you're late!"

I roll my eyes at this before Kelly calms him down, like always. "They're one minute late. Everyone else was just early."

"Whatever!" Gustavo shouts. "Now, we all just got back from a very long tour. Two very successful tours. But I don't want to see any of you for a long time."

He starts pacing back and forth in front of us. "I'll give you some time off, but before you leave, we just need to figure out what we're going to do when you get back."

Gustavo pauses to look at the guys. "Monkey dogs. We'll probably start working on your fourth album, as long as Griffin okays it." He turns towards me. "L-dog, do you want to make a third album?"

"How come she gets a choice?" Kendall protests before I could answer.

I raise my eyebrow at this as my uncle shouts at him. "Quiet, dog!"

I contemplate it for a minute. It was fun singing and being on tour, but I don't want to be known for just being a singer. "Can I maybe start some acting again? I'm kind of getting tired of singing."

"We'll see. You'll have a month off-" he's cut off by the guys cheering but they stop as soon as he glares at them. "So you can think about it then and make your decision."

"Now get out of my studio!" We all quickly walk away as Gustavo goes into his office and slams the door shut.

Carlos waits for me and starts walking next to me. "Thank you so much for helping Lauren, you have no idea how important this is."

"Well of course I don't because you haven't told me what it is," I reply sarcastically to him. James snickers at this and I smile over at him as all five of us crowd into the elevator.

"Yeah what is it that you have to do Carlos? I'm curious," Logan asks as the elevator starts descending. I can see Kendall nod in agreement.

Carlos starts blushing and stuttering. "I-I-I it's nothing!" He shouts as the doors open on the ground floor and he runs out screaming.

I laugh as we follow him outside. "He's never going to change, is he?"

"I hope not," James says as he stops by my car. I can see Carlos waiting impatiently for me by his car. "I'll see you in a little bit?"

"Of course. Maybe we can go out for dinner later. I'm sure this won't take long." I lean up to kiss him and I smile as I pull away and start walking backwards towards Carlos. "I love you."

"I love you too," he says with a smile before getting into my car and starting it.

I turn towards Carlos and walk over. "Alright what's so important that you have to take me away from my husband who I haven't seen in five months?"

I cross my arms as he gets in the car. "I'll explain while we're driving, okay?"

I sigh as I get in the car and he pulls away from Rocque Records. He's silent for several minutes as I stare at him and I can tell he's deep in thought. "So…"

Carlos doesn't say anything but reaches into his pocket. He pulls something out and hands it to me. I open the small black box, pretty sure of what it is, and scream in excitement when I see the diamond ring. "You're going to ask Rachel to marry you?! Oh my god this is so exciting!" I look over at him and see that he's barely smiling. "Why aren't you excited?"

"I'm so nervous," he whispers quietly as we pull up to the house he and Rachel share. I don't see her car in the driveway and assume she must be working.

"Don't be. She's going to say yes. I've never seen her more in love with anyone than she is with you."

"I just want it to be perfect," Carlos says as he looks over at me.

"And it will be," I reassure him. "When are you going to ask her?"

"Tonight."

My jaw drops open in shock. "Tonight? Do you even have anything planned?"

He bites his lip and looks away. "Kind of. I have reservations for a nice dinner but that's it. I was really hoping you could help me."

I sigh as I get out of the car and Carlos follows behind me. "I'm going to need help to set this up, but I have a plan," I say as I pull out my phone and dial the number I know by heart.

"Hello?" James asks confused when he picks up the phone.

"Hey, can you help me out? I'm going to need white Christmas lights, a carriage ride through a park, and tree hats. Definitely need tree hats."

"Should I even ask?"

"Nope," I reply as I walk in Carlos' house.

"Okay I'll meet you at Carlos' house in twenty minutes."

As James hangs up I turn towards Carlos who is looking at me expectantly. "Alright I have a plan."

~BTR~

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Logan asks as we spy through the bushes on Carlos and Rachel as they walk through the park towards the gazebo we decorated all nicely.

"Of course it will. No need to be so pessimistic Logan," Kendall says as he shakes his head. "Haven't you learned to trust our plans by now?"

"I wouldn't normally but I do this time because I came up with it so it has to be awesome," I say and James laughs next to me. "Now shh, they're almost here."

They walk past us onto the gazebo and I can see Carlos take Rachel's hands as he stands there nervously. He's saying something but we can't hear him.

"He's babbling, isn't he?" Logan asks us.

"Yup," the three of us reply.

Carlos gets down on one knee and I have to keep myself from squealing in excitement. I can see Rachel's face light up as Carlos puts the ring on her and when he stands up and kisses her, I can't help but cheer a bit with the guys.

Rachel pulls away and looks directly over at us. I can clearly hear her talking. "Did those bushes just cheer?"

I have to hold in my laughter as Carlos tries to come up with an answer. "Come on, let's go," I say to the guys before we start running away.

We stop when we're far enough away that they won't be able to hear us. "Well I would say that tonight was very successful," I say to the guys and they nod in agreement.

"And now we have a wedding to look forward to," James says as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close.

Kendall and Logan look at each other before talking at the same time. "We need to get girlfriends."

"Hey, we have a month off. That's plenty of time to find a girlfriend," James says to them and I nod my head. "Now we're going to get going. I need time away from you."

"Yeah," Logan says as he turns and starts walking away.

"I agree," Kendall says before walking in the opposite direction.

"Wait… didn't they come here in the same car?" I ask James and sure enough, Kendall stops walking and turns and heads after Logan. "Some things never change, do they?"

"Nope," James says as we start walking towards his car. "But that's exactly how I want them to be."

**Wow this turned into a really long chapter. I don't even know how, but I just kept writing until I got to a good ending point. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"I can't believe the guys are even hanging out with each other," Rachel says as she sits down on my couch and I sit next to her. "It's only been two weeks since you got back."

"I know, right? Oh well, their guys night out gives us time to catch up on things."

Rachel shrugs as she starts going through the pile of movies sitting on the table in front of us. "Now we can watch whatever movies we want without the guys complaining."

"I know what movie you're going to pick," I say as I stand up and start walking towards the kitchen. I can hear her laughing behind me. "I'm getting food, I'm starving."

I rummage through the cabinets until I've found the jar of nutella, a couple bags of chips, some soda, and pretzels. I pour the chips into bowls before walking back into the living room and seeing the main menu for Titanic. "Do I know you well, or do I know you well?"

Rachel throws a pillow at me and I dodge it as she laughs. "Just get over here and give me some food."

We start the movie but don't end up watching much as we talk the whole time.

"So I'm thinking of having my wedding in January," Rachel says around a mouthful of chips after a little while. "That gives me seven months to plan this whole thing which will be plenty of time."

I stare at her expectantly and raise one eyebrow at her. "What?" she asks me confused.

"Are you forgetting something?" I ask her, slightly offended that she hasn't asked me something very important yet.

Rachel stares at me for a minute before she gasps. "I'm so sorry, Lauren! Will you be my maid of honor?"

"It's about time you asked," I say sarcastically before I hug her. "Of course I will! I'd be honored to, especially after you were for my wedding."

"I can't believe that was almost 3 years ago already!" Rachel says and I think about it for a bit. It has been such a crazy three years, but it barely feels like James and I have been married for over a year, let alone three. Life has just been way to hectic for me lately. I need a break from it.

"You know," I start to say as I eat a spoonful of nutella. "I need a break from the craziness that's been going on for the past few years. I think I'm not going to record a third album."

"Do whatever you want to," Rachel pauses as the credits start. "Wow did we really just talk for three hours and not even realize it?"

"Yup," I say as I stand up and stretch. My stomach starts to turn and I cover my mouth with my hand as I run to the bathroom and try to get there before I get sick.

Rachel is right behind me as I start throwing up and she holds my hair for me. "Are you alright?" she asks me concerned when I sit back and lean against the bathroom wall.

I shake my head. "No… I have no idea why I got sick. I was perfectly fine all day."

"Maybe you ate too much junk food?" She offers and I just shrug my shoulders. "Have you been sick at all for the past couple days?"

"No. I bet I just ate too much junk food like you said." I stand up and head over to the sink so I can brush my teeth. "I feel fine now."

Rachel looks at me skeptically but shrugs it off. "Okay then. I had been ready to suggest we go out and do something since it's still early, but maybe we shouldn't-"

I cut her off before she can finish. "No, we are not missing out on fun because I pigged out on food. Let's go."

I walk out of the bathroom and head towards the grand foyer. I grab my keys and purse from where they're sitting on the table next to the door and turn towards Rachel. "What do you want to do?"

"Go to a club?" She offers and I shrug. "But you're not drinking at all."

I start walking out the door and heading towards my car as she follows me. "Wasn't planning on it. I'm not getting sick again." Besides, I'm still not even technically legal to drink. I still have one more month left before I'm 21.

As I get in the car, I check my reflection in the mirror before starting it. "I don't even care how I look right now."

I start driving towards our normal club as Rachel sits in the passenger seat and puts on make up that she got from who knows where.

She's finished by time we get to the club and when we walk up to the door, the bouncer lets us in right away without having to wait in line. Sometimes it really pays to be a celebrity.

Rachel grabs my hand and drags me out to the dance floor and I try to ignore the nagging pain in the back of my stomach and just have a good time. We dance for a while before we take a break and sit down while Rachel has a drink.

As Rachel is waiting for her drink, some guy comes up to me and offers what he must think is a winning smile. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here all by herself?"

"Waiting for my friend to get back," I reply to him, right to the point because I honestly don't feel like dealing with him.

He slides into the booth across from me and I try to ignore him. "So do you want to dance? Have a drink?"

I turn from staring out at the dance floor to look at him and raise an eyebrow at him. "Does it look like I want to dance with you?"

"Hell yeah it does," he says and stands up, trying to get me to go with him.

When he tries to grab my hand, I yank it away from him before flashing my left hand at him. "I'm married you asshole. I don't want to dance with you."

I'm wondering what's taking Rachel so long and the guy smirks at me. "We don't have to tell anyone."

"She said no," a familiar voice says from my right before punching the guy in the face. James puts an arm protectively around me as he glares at the guy who's clutching his now bleeding nose. "So get the hell away from my wife."

James leans in and starts kissing me passionately as he pulls me closer to him. He forces his tongue into my mouth and I moan at his touch. James was acting so jealous. And I have to admit, it was hot.

When he pulls away to breath, I bite my lip as I stare at him. "Damn you're hot when you're jealous. But why are you here?"

He chuckles as he pulls me onto his lap and I see Rachel finally walking back over. "Rachel texted us all saying where you were going in case we wanted to join you when the game was over. I figured I would stop by and I'm glad I did." He glares off into the direction the guy went and I'm pretty sure I hear him mutter, "douche bag."

"Hey what did I miss?" Rachel asks as she gets to the table with Carlos who has an arm around her.

"James got all jealous because I guy was hitting on me so he punched him and we made out and it was hot," I say right to the point and Carlos laughs.

"You think it's funny now, buddy, but just wait until it happens to you," James says to Carlos and I can tell that he's still mad but trying to hide it.

I stand up and grab James hands to pull him up. "Come on, let's go home. Obviously someone is being grumpy still."

"No I'm not," James says as he crosses his arms. I raise an eyebrow and he uncrosses them. "Okay maybe I am a little bit."

"We'll see you guys later," Carlos says and waves bye to us before turning his attention to Rachel.

James puts and arm tight around my waist and leads me outside. His grip doesn't relax even after we're away from the crowd. "You don't understand how upset it makes me when guys think they can just take advantage of you being there without a guy."

We get to my car and I stop him from getting in on his side. "James you know I would never do anything. I love you so much. I'm not going to lose you over something stupid."

He closes his eyes and sighs before opening them and leaning down to kiss me. It's not rough like earlier but sweet and gentle. "I love you," he mumbles against my lips.

James pulls away and smiles before kissing me briefly before starting to walk to the other side of the car. We get in and I start it before driving home, suddenly exhausted even though it's not too late.

"Sorry for getting so jealous back there," James says after a minute of silence.

"Don't be. I thought it was hot."

He laughs at this and I just know he's smirking. "I'll keep that in mind for future reference. So what else did you and Rachel do today?"

"We talked a lot, watched a movie, ate a ton of junk food. So much to the point that I got sick and threw up." I pause as James looks at me concerned. "I'm fine now, don't worry. How was your day with the boys?"

"Ugh, I did not have enough time away from them yet," he says annoyed and I laugh as I pull into our driveway.

"Well how about we just go relax outside for a while and watch the stars?" I offer as I get of the car.

"Honestly, that sounds fantastic right now," James says as he takes my hand and starts leading me around to the back of the house. He lies down on the hammock before pulling me down next to him and holding me close.

I completely content as I lay against James and listen to his heartbeat as I stare up at the sky. Things were just absolutely perfect right now and I couldn't be happier. Not when I have the love of my life right next to me and he will always be there.

**Well there you go, the next part :) yes, it's kind of a filler, but it's still so early in the story. I think something pretty big will be happening in either the next chapter or the chapter after that, so, something exciting for you to look forward to! Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

I brace myself for the yelling that is sure to come from my uncle as I hide behind James. I had just told him that I want to pursue acting instead of music and I know he's not going to be happy.

I stand on my tippy toes to peer over James shoulder at Gustavo and I see him standing there calmly. Kelly is right next to him, jaw dropped in shock. "Okay then."

"Okay then?" Kendall repeats in shock. I glance over at the guys and they're all standing there with their eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I figured you would make that choice L-Dog," Gustavo says as he starts pacing in front of us. "So I've talked to Griffin and he's given the ok."

"But," he adds as he stops to look at me. "He requested you record two or three songs first to be released with some love songs for an ep. Think of it as a goodbye gift to your fans."

"And you're completely okay with this?" I ask him, still not believing him accepting me leaving the music business. He is always opposed to acting and here he his just letting me go.

My uncle sighs as he puts a hand on my shoulder. "There comes a time when every dog decides to leave the dog house and explore the giant park that is Hollywood."

"When will we get to leave?" Logan asks him.

"Quiet dog! You'll leave when I tell you you can leave." Logan shuts up quickly and steps back from Gustavo.

I hug my uncle unexpectedly and he hesitates before putting his arms around me. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Gustavo steps back and looks at us. "We'll what are you dogs doing just standing there, get to work!"

His yelling frightens the guys and they run away from him and into the recording booth. I laugh at their reactions; you would think after all this time they would know Gustavo isn't going to kill them.

Kelly shakes her head at the guys as she walks into the other room, my uncle and I following her. I see the guys looking at sheets of music as my uncle sits in his chair at the controls to talk to them. "Dogs, you may have already noticed that this song is a duet. But it's not just a duet, it's a duet with Lauren."

My face lights up at this and the guys all start cheering. We've been trying to talk my uncle into letting us do a duet for years now, but he's always changed his mind.

"What's with the sudden change of heart?" Kendall asks him and I can't blame him for being curious.

Gustavo crosses his arms as he looks at the guys. "Lauren's only going to be recording with us for a few more weeks so I figured it was time to bring this song out. I've had it written for over a year now."

"Then why haven't we recorded it before?!" James asks him angrily and I can't blame him. It would have been fun to perform this with the guys.

Gustavo raises his eyebrows at the guys and they stop all of their complaints. "Because I didn't want to. End of story." He turns in his chair to look at me. "We'll use this song on your ep. It's called Good Time."

Kelly leans down to speak into the microphone to the guys. "We're going to record your parts of the song." She pauses and adds to me, "Lauren, just sit and relax for a bit."

I plop down on the couch as my uncle starts playing the music and get ready for what's going to be a lot of yelling as the guys record their part.

~BTR~

I stand up from where I was sitting in front of the apartment door as I hear the voices of the two guys approaching. When they round the corner, they stop in shock at seeing me.

"Lauren, what are you doing here?" Logan asks me as he walks over to me and pauses by the door.

"Yeah didn't you have errands to run?" Kendall adds as Logan unlocks the door and he steps aside to let me in to their shared apartment.

I turn to them when the door closes behind Logan. "I do. But it requires Logan's help."

Logan's eyebrows scrunch in confusion as he walks up to me and looks at my face carefully. "Is everything okay with you and James?"

I nod my head and can see Kendall let out a sigh of relief. "Good then I'm letting him know you're here," he says as he takes out his phone to tell James.

"No!" I shout and run over to him and grab the phone from his hand. "I don't want him to know until I find out exactly what I came here to ask Logan. I don't want to make a big deal out of this if it turns out to be nothing."

"Lauren, please tell us what's going on," Logan says and I turn to look at him. "You're really worrying me."

"I just haven't been feeling well lately and I want your opinion before I head to the doctor."

Kendall sighs before starting to walk towards the kitchen. "Well if that's all I'm getting some food. You guys want anything?"

"No thanks," I reply as I look at Logan who has been staring at me with the same weird expression. "What?"

"Nothing," he says with a shake of his head and breaks out of his weird state. "Well let's get started. Kendall, don't bother us," Logan says before he leads me to the table.

I sit down an Logan sits across from me with a notepad and pen that I don't know how he got. "Okay so what's wrong?"

"I've just been feeling nauseous a lot lately. Like it comes up out of no where and I don't know why."

"How long has this been going on?" Logan asks without looking up as he writes stuff down.

I pause before replying as Kendall sits down at the end of the table with a bowl of chips. "Maybe a week after we all got back from tour? Around then."

"Hmm," is the only thing Logan says as he stares off into space and I can tell he's deep in thought.

A beep from where Kendall's sitting distracts him and we both look over at him to see his phone out. "Sorry," he says around a mouthful of chips.

Logan turns back to me and frowns in thought. He suddenly stands up and grabs my hand, pulling me up and dragging me over to the couch. "Lay down. I want to feel your stomach, see if there is anything unusual."

I do as Logan asks and his cold hands press on my stomach in what seems to be random spots, but I know to Logan have meaning. I watch his face for any sign of him knowing what's wrong.

After what seems like a while but was probably more like a minute, he stands up and I sit up on the couch, waiting for his verdict. "Well?"

"I need to run to the store and get something to be sure," Logan says before walking to his room, leaving me sitting there absolutely confused. He walks back with a hat and sunglasses on and I'm still in the same spot. "I'll be right back, it'll take me no more than fifteen minutes."

Logan walks out the door and I turn to Kendall. "What was that about?"

He shrugs his shoulders before walking over to the couch and sitting next to me. "Your guess is as good as mine. You sure you don't want any food?"

"Fine," I say as I grab a handful of chips as he turns on the tv. I laugh when a rerun of New Town High comes on and I see Jo.

Kendall frowns before starting to flip through the channels. "You totally blew it with her, you know? You had the chance to be with her but you messed it up."

"I'm fully aware that I messed up, thank you very much," he says rudely and continues searching through channels. He passes MTV but not before seeing Lucy's newest music video playing.

Kendall angrily turns the tv off and throws the remote away.

"You seriously messed up with Lucy too. I can't believe you just left her as soon as Jo came back."

"Lauren, stop it!" Kendall says before he closes his eyes and sighs. "Please can we not talk about this?"

"Fine," I say and cross my arms. He needed to talk about this at some point; he's only been putting it off since before we went on tour. "So how's Katie?"

"She's good. Camille has been taking her to a lot of auditions trying to get her some smaller parts so she can build up a résumé."

I nod as I think about the two girls. Camille had offered to let Katie live with her when the guys moved out of the Palmwoods and Mama Knight wanted to move back to Minnesota. But it's been way too long since I last saw them.

The door opens, breaking our silence and Logan walks in holding a plastic bag from the pharmacy nearby. He walks over to us and dumps the contents on the table in front of us.

I raise my eyebrows at the boxes that fall on the table and Kendall picks one up. "You think Lauren's pregnant?" Kendall asks incredulously. Even I'm rather surprised.

Logan shrugs before replying. "It's my best guess. Lauren just go use all three of the tests and then we'll wait for the results."

I hesitantly take the tests as I stand up and slowly walk to the bathroom. I close the door behind me and set the boxes on the counter and look at them. I take one out as I read the instructions.

_I really have to pee on these? Gross._

I just quickly get it over with and put the caps back on them before walking back out to where Logan and Kendall are waiting. I hand them to Logan who's face turns in disgust and Kendall laughs at his discomfort.

"So I guess now we wait for fifteen minutes," Logan says as he sets down the pregnancy tests.

"Now we wait," I repeat, more to myself as I sit down.

I stare at the tests, knowing that they can completely change my future just by if a plus or minus shows up. But am I even ready to have a kid yet? I'm not even 21 yet. Who knows if James and I are even ready for the responsibility of raising a child. James...

Who knows how he'll react to this. We've talked about having kids before, but we both agreed it would be better to wait. Our careers are both going so well right now and I would hate to be the cause of the band splitting up. I know James would quit so he could be with me and the baby.

Kendall clears his throat and I look up at them. I had forgotten they were there as I got lost in my thoughts. "Are you okay?" He asks me concerned and puts a hand on my shoulder.

I shrug and shake my head. "I have no idea."

Logan pulls me into a hug and tries to comfort me. "We'll be here for you no matter what happens. And James will be happy either way. So don't worry."

I stay in Logan's embrace, feeling comforted by him. He lets me stay there for a bit before he nudges me. "It's been fifteen minutes now. Do you want to look first?"

I nod as I pull back from him. I take a deep breath to steady myself before I reach out with a shaky hand for one of the tests. I pick it up and stare at the screen.

A plus.

I quickly grab the other two to confirm the results and they both show the same thing. I sit back, still holding them and look up at the two guys waiting there expectantly. "I'm pregnant," I whisper.

"I'm pregnant," I say again, mostly to myself, thinking that if I say it enough it will fully sink in.

I subconsciously put a hand on my still flat stomach and start smiling. "I'm pregnant," I say with more resolution.

Logan smiles at me and hugs me again. "Congrats Lauren. This is great! I'm really glad this is what was wrong with you and not something terrible."

I laugh lightly and see Kendall start smiling. "James sure is a lucky guy. Don't worry, we'll be there to help out. Knowing James, he is sure to start panicking at some point during all this."

"Oh my god, I have to go tell him!" I say and suddenly stand up and start walking to the door. I pause to turn back to them. "Thank you so much for everything. Bye guys!"

I leave the apartment and decide to take the stairs down the two flights, being two excited to wait around for the elevator. I quickly get to the parking lot and get in my car, eager to get back to my house.

The short distance takes about ten minutes to drive home. Thankfully traffic isn't bad right now. I speed up the driveway and I'm out of the car as soon as its stopped. I run up the steps and throw open the door, shouting for James as soon as I walk in.

I head to the living room and see him sitting there. He stands up when he sees me. "Hey it's about time you got back."

I'm confused by his change in attitude from earlier. He was perfectly fine and now he's being all grumpy. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He repeats and scoffs. "I don't know, maybe it would be nice if my wife would tell me where she was going."

"I told you I had some running around to do," I say and I'm offended by him being so upset with me.

"Well what did you do?" He asks and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I went to see Logan-"

"Logan? Really?" James says as he cuts me off. "Good to know you'd rather spend time with him than me."

"James, would you just let me explain!" I shout at him and can feel my eyes watering with tears that threatened to fall. "You're being ridiculous right now!"

"I'm being ridiculous? You just told me you had to do some running around when you really went to see my best friend." He stresses the best part and I can tell he's upset.

I don't try to hold backs he tears as I look him right in the eye. "I went to him because I haven't been feeling well lately and I hate going to the doctors. You know that!"

James pouts like he knows he's wrong but he doesn't give in, being as stubborn as always. "You could have told me."

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it if it turned out to be nothing."

James walks over to me and puts both hands on my shoulders. "I don't care! If you're sick, even if its just the common cold, I want to know!"

He lets go and turns around and starts walking away towards the stairs.

"I'm pregnant," I say and he freezes.

"What?" He asks quietly as he looks over his shoulder. I can see that he's no longer mad but I have no idea what he's feeling.

I take a couple steps towards him. "I'm pregnant."

James turns around fully towards me and just stares at me for a few seconds. I start to think that he's frozen before he suddenly breaks out into a huge smile and runs the few feet to me and picks me up in a hug. He spins me around while laughing.

He sets me down but doesn't let go. "I'm going to be a dad? This isn't some joke, right?"

I shake my head, not knowing if I'll be able to speak properly. "You're not mad?" I manage to get out.

"Mad? Are you kidding me? Why would I be mad about something as perfect as this?" James pauses and smiles at me. "I mean, it's a bit unexpected, but we'll work it out."

I lean in and hug him tightly, not letting go of him. I was worried James wasn't going to take it well, but I should have known he would stick with me through anything. "I love you," I whisper to him as I rest my head on his chest.

"I love you too," James says and kisses the top of my head. "And I love our little baby girl."

I pull back a bit to look at him. "You say that like you're so certain it's a girl. I want a boy."

"Why? Boys are gross. You should know that, seeing as you've put up with me and the guys for three years now."

"I know," I say and try to shrug while in his arms. "I just want a little version of you."

"That's what I was thinking too!" James says at starts laughing. "Well no matter what happens, I know we can make it through. Together."

"Together," I repeat and look up at him smiling, happy to know that everything was going to be alright.

**Aww she's pregnant! I don't know what else to say about this chapter, so just let me know what you think! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**So uh, yeah. It's been a while, yeah, it's been a, yeah, it's been a while. I haven't told you guys a story in so frickin long, I need to tell you guys a story right now. Yea?**

**I'll give a cookie to anyone who knows what youtube video that is from. Okay I'll see you at the end of the chapter.**

I can hear the crowd cheering from where I sit backstage, waiting to go out. Ellen is talking to the audience and getting them warmed up and laughing before I go on stage. My uncle thought it would be a good idea to have me announce that I'm pregnant on the Ellen Show since it's so popular. And he figured this way I could talk about the few songs I'll be releasing and my future plans and the guys can come out at some point and talk about BTR's plans.

I glance over behind me and see Gustavo standing there with his arms crossed and a pout on his face and I laugh a little to myself. Apparently he's still not happy about this. But his reaction now isn't nearly as bad as when James and I first told him.

Kelly had to hold Gustavo back as he was screaming at James and threatening to kill him because he had somehow taken my "innocence and virtue" away from me. Total bullshit. But James had run behind the guys who were prepared with hockey gear to protect him. So that really didn't go well. It took forever to calm my uncle down enough to the point where we didn't have to worry about him having a heart attack or a stroke.

Then I thought Gustavo was going to kill Carlos because he's now engaged and my uncle has already said that he doesn't want the other guys getting tied down so there would still be some appeal to teen girls. And after Gustavo's reaction to finding out I'm pregnant, he won't say anything. Supposedly he plans on announcing it today but either way, my uncle is going to kill him.

Someone calls my name and I snap out of my thoughts to see the producer standing in front of me. "Lauren we're just about ready for you to go out."

I nod and stand up as she leads me over just to the side of the stage. I can see  
Ellen out there talking to the audience. "Now our first guest today you might have heard of her. She was an actress in the Hunger Games and has two albums out. And I haven't even mentioned her family members. Please welcome Lauren Diamond!"

As the crowd starts cheering I walk out onto the stage, waving and smiling at them. I walk over to Ellen and she gives me a hug before motioning me to the chair next to hers. We both sit down as the crowd quiets down.

"So Lauren, welcome. It's great to see you and to have you on the show. Now you've been making quite a name for yourself in Hollywood without your parents help, which I really admire. It's too often that people in this town are famous just because of their parents. Like Paris Hilton."

I laugh a bit at her unexpected joke and so does the crowd before I reply. "Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here since I watch the show all the time."

"Well at least that makes one of us that watches," Ellen says with a dead straight face. It's only from watching the show that I know she's joking and it's only a few seconds before she starts laughing. "Okay so you were just on tour for five months all around North America. I went to your show here in Los Angeles. But what was that like being on tour for that long?"

"Honestly it was exhausting. I was playing shows five or six times a week for five months. There was no break. But I'm not complaining. It was great to see all of my fans and meet many of them."

"It's a tough life, having fans screaming for you," Ellen jokingly says. "That happens to me all the time, except they're always running away from me screaming."

I can't even respond to this because I'm laughing so hard and so is the audience. Even Ellen laughs a bit. "Okay so you were gone for five months. I want to know what was it like being away from James? You two are so young and in love. I can't imagine being separated from Portia for so long."

I sigh before answering. I knew a question like this was going to come up. "That was the worst part. I didn't realize how sad it would be to not see him every day and be able to hug him just because I felt like it. The only time we were able to talk was when one of us was finishing a show and the other was just waking up."

A lot of people in the crowd _aww_ at this and even Ellen frowns a bit. "Well I bet you two are never going to go on tour separately again. That would be a tour I would like to see, you and James together. Just a little hint for the future."

"You know, I have no idea what will happen in the future. Right now I'm recording an EP to be released soon and then I'm going to take a little break from things."

"Early retirement?" Ellen asks.

"No I-"

"I would too if I was dating one of the guys in the hottest band in Hollywood right now and my parents were super successful," Ellen says interrupting me. She stares at me with an emotionless face for a couple seconds before bursting out into laughter.

I hit her lightly on the arm. "That was not funny!"

"The audience thinks it was," she says and points to the crowd and I can see many of them are laughing.

"Well that's not what I'm going to do. I want to get back into acting."

"More action movies? Romance? Maybe some horror movies?"

"I don't think I would be good in horror movies. I can't be scared enough-"

Someone yells right next to me and I scream and flail as I turn to someone in a giant dinosaur costume running away. I fall over on the armrest of my chair as I start laughing over being scared. I should have known Ellen would try to scare me. She does this to so many people on the show.

Ellen puts a hand on my shoulder as she's laughing and I look up at her. "That was so mean!"

She doesn't respond right away as she's still laughing. "You mean really funny! Sorry, I had to do that! And it was so worth it."

"I hate you," I say and jokingly pout.

"So maybe no horror movies for you. I don't know why you wouldn't, you seemed pretty convincing to me." Ellen pauses for a few seconds to laugh a bit more. "But I'm curious, why the break before you get back to acting?"

My heart starts pounding as I realize I finally have to announce that I'm pregnant. I know it whole reason why I came on the show to begin with, but that doesn't mean I'm not freaking out about it. "Well I just have some unexpected plans that came up."

She gives me a look like she knows I'm avoiding answering the question. "Plans like what?"

I take a deep breath as I get ready to just say it and get it over with. I open my mouth to speak and no words come out. Ellen gives me a sympathetic look before I quickly just blurt out, "I'm pregnant."

The crowd is almost completely silent as they take in the news. I look at Ellen, waiting for her reaction. She starts smiling after a few moments of silence and I let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding. "Well congratulations. That's a pretty big thing, but I'm sure you and James can handle it."

"Thank you," I say quietly and smile at her.

Ellen smiles back before turning towards the camera. "We'll be right back in a couple minutes and we'll find out more about Lauren and what to expect in the future."

The camera guy signals he's done filming and Ellen turns to me and hugs me. "I'm so happy for you and James. I know that you're both still young, but I can tell that you two truly love each other."

"I really appreciate your support," I say as I pull back from her. "It's nice to know that someone is accepting it."

"There's always going to people who oppose you, Lauren. I learned that a while ago. People always try to bring you down, just because you're different or make choices that they wouldn't have."

I think about what Ellen just said and realize that she's completely right. There are always people in this town that try to bring you down but you just have to ignore the hate. "Wow Ellen, I don't think I've ever seen you be so serious."

"I do have my moments," she says as the produce walks up to us.

"We're just about to get started again."

"Alright," Ellen says as she turns and faces the camera, getting ready to start again.

With a countdown from the camera man, she picks up talking again. "We're back and we just found out before the break that Lauren is going to be taking a break from singing and acting because there is soon to be the pitter-patter of little feet running through the Diamond household. So Lauren, what was the reaction by your family members to the news?"

"My mom and dad were pretty excited about it. I know my mom has always been looking forward to the day when she becomes a grandmother. My uncle on the other hand, not so much."

"And why is that?"

"He's always been super protective of me. I think he's a bit more protective now because he's known James for almost five years now. He's seen plenty of the stupid things James and the guys did when they first moved to Hollywood." I pause and laugh a bit as I think about all of the ridiculous plans they've had. "Who am I kidding, they still do those things."

"Now I couldn't help but notice that you didn't mention James's reaction or the rest of the guys. But let's just hear it right from them. Come on out, guys!"

I turn and see the guys walking out and waving as the crowd cheers. They head over to where we're sitting and join me on the couch, James sitting right next to me with his arm around me. To his right are Kendall, Logan, and then Carlos.

When the crowd quiets down, Ellen starts talking to them. "So that was pretty big news that Lauren announced. I want to know each of your reactions."

They all start talking at once and Ellen looks at them confused and I just roll my eyes since this happens all the time. "Guys, stop," I say to them and they all pause and look at me.

"I'm so excited about it!" Carlos says first as he's smiling and bouncing in his seat.

Logan smiles at me before giving his opinion. "It's a pretty big thing, but I know they'll both be able to handle it."

"I agree with Logan," Kendall adds. "But James is a great guy and Lauren is one of the sweetest people I know. That kid is going to have great parents."

I smile at Kendall as the crowd _awws_ over what he said. The guys really are such great friends.

Ellen looks at James as he's the only guy left who hasn't said anything yet. He turns and looks at me, "I'm beyond excited and there's no one else in the world that I would rather have a family with than Lauren."

I lean up and kiss him briefly because what he said was so sweet. He really is going to be a great father. "I love you," I whisper to him.

"So do you know when the due date is?"

"March 23rd," I reply.

"And I couldn't be more excited," James says as he pulls me closer to him and puts a hand on my stomach.

"This is so cute," Ellen says and chuckles. "I wish I was young and in love like you two. Speaking of love, what's everyone else's relationship statuses?"

"Single," Kendall says sadly.

"Same," Logan says as he puts a hand up.

Carlos doesn't say anything and Logan has to elbow him to get him talking. "Well I'm still with Rachel."

"And?" Ellen asks, seeming to know that there is more to it.

Carlos rubs his back as he starts talking, trying to avoid it. "Well in a few months we're going to be getting married."

I swear I can hear my uncle yell from backstage before Ellen responds to Carlos. "Well congrats to you two. Wow there's all sorts of news today. But I'm sure I speak for a lot people when I ask this. But what's going to happen to Big Time Rush?"

"We're going to try to keep recording and making music for our fans for as long as possible," Kendall says to her and the guys nod their heads in agreement.

"That might be in a few months, or it might be in a year or two," Logan adds to Kendall's previous statement.

James turns to Ellen to give his opinion. "We love our fans and want to keep making music for them, but at some point, we're going to have to stop and focus on our family and our futures."

"I understand where you guys are coming from," Ellen says. "I've seen many celebrities lose track of what's important like their family and just get caught up in fame and work. But you guys seem to know your priorities."

"Well thank you guys so much for coming on the show today. It's been a pleasure talking to all of you and I wish you the best with everything to come."

Ellen waits until the camera is turned off before standing up and hugging all of us. "Good luck with the baby, Lauren," she says to me as she hugs me. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, feel free to contact me."

"Thank you so much," I say to her and smile. It's so nice to find someone in this business that genuinely cares. Most people don't care about others and what's going on for them.

I take James hand in mine and look up at him and see him smiling down at me. "You ready to go face your uncle?"

"No," I say jokingly. "He's going to kill Carlos."

"…Yeah he probably will. Guys, grab him," James says and Logan and Kendall each grab one of Carlos's arms to prevent him from running away as we head backstage.

Sure enough, my uncle is waiting for us right away and I pause when I notice he's standing there calmly. "I am trying not to get mad right now because I would prefer not to have a heart attack when I'm only 42. Now dog, I don't appreciate you not telling me ahead of time and if you do that again, I will fire you. But at least you picked a good moment to tell everyone. The media is going to love this when the episode premieres next week."

"So you're not going to kill me?" Carlos asks him really confused. I have to admit that I'm a bit confused too by Gustavo's reaction, or lack of a reaction.

"Not right now, but if you keep talking to me, I surely will in a few minutes. So you might want to get going."

Carlos takes off running towards the exit and Logan and Kendall starting walking in the same direction. James and I stay and wait for my uncle to say something, because I know he will.

"L-dog, even though I'm still not happy with this, I have to admit you did a good job with the interview."

"Well thanks," I say, surprised by a complement from him. "I guess we're going to get going now."

We start to walk towards the exit when my uncle calls after us. "Oh and James? I still will kill you if you mess things up."

James laughs as he waves over his shoulder at Gustavo. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

**Sorry it's been so long since I last posted a chapter. I've just been so distracted by school and college applications. I've wanted to write, but I'm always just loaded with homework and/or exhausted. I'll be done with college apps this week so that'll be one less thing to worry about, but I still have ap physics. Not fun.**

**But I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to make it funny, just like Ellen's show actually is. And I will try to write the next part as soon as I can! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

A loud crash is heard from the room next to us and I look over at Rachel and roll my eyes before setting down the food I was cooking and heading over to see what happened. I walk into the living room and see James laying on his stomach holding a flower vase that is normally on the table next to him. Kendall, Logan, and Carlos all pause from where they're wrestling each other to look up at me. I just put my hands on my hips and shake my head at them. I swear, those four are never going to grow up. We'll probably all be sitting in a retirement home and they'll still be fighting like this.

"Hey, at least I caught the vase, Lauren!" James says in defense of himself before I can even say anything to them.

The door bell ringing stops me from saying anything to the guys and I sigh before starting to walk out of the living room. "You guys are lucky someone else is here now."

I open the door and see Mama Knight and Katie standing there, both holding a dish. "Hi Lauren! It's so great to see you," Mama Knight says as she hugs me with one arm before walking in.

"Are you sure you won't let me move in with you? This place is awesome," Katie says and we both pause as we hear her mom start yelling at the guys. "What did they do now?"

"Almost breaking things in the living room," I reply as I take the dish from her as she walks in. She follows me into the kitchen and sits down on one of the stools as I get back to cooking with Rachel.

It had been my idea to have a party at our house to celebrate Carlos and Rachel's engagement, now that it's announced. So we invited over our family and closest friends. I wanted to have this more so that we can see everyone because since we all moved out of the Palmwoods, we haven't really seen Katie and Mama Knight too often, and I've missed them.

Kendall's mom walks in the kitchen, dragging her son by the ear. "You're never going to learn, are you?"

Katie comes to her brother's rescue and hugs him, and I can see the relief on his face at getting out of that situation with his mom.

"Kendall, could you go ask James to go check on the ribs please?" I ask him since the food needs to be checked on and it will give him an escape from his mom. He nods before leaving the kitchen.

Mama Knight turns towards Rachel and I and smiles. "Can I help you girls out with anything?"

"I think we're good. Thanks though," I say to her.

"Don't worry about it," Rachel adds in. "We got this under control."

At that moment, smoke starts coming out of the oven and the fire alarm starts going off. The guys all run in here as I open the oven and smoke pours out. I grab the tray with an oven mitt and pull out French fries and corn dogs that are completely blackened.

I turn towards Rachel as James starts fanning the fire alarm, trying to get it to shut off. She looks at me ashamed and shrugs her shoulders. "So maybe we don't have this under control?"

Mama Knight takes the tray from me as the guys leave, realizing nothing bad is going on. "I'll help you girls out. What else needs to be cooked?"

I lean back against the counter next to a laughing Katie. "Well I guess we need to make more French fries and corn dogs since someone forgot to put the timer on the oven earlier. And James is taking care of the ribs."

"You're letting James use a grill?" Katie asks me in disbelief. I turn to her with an eyebrow raised. "Aren't you afraid he's going to start the house of fire?"

I chuckle lightly at this. "Katie, it's been three years now that James and I have been married. I've taught him how to cook things without burning the house down."

Mama Knight closes the oven after putting a new tray of food in and sets the timer. "I think we have to worry more about Rachel at this point."

We all laugh as Rachel pouts with her arms crossed. I pat her on the back before sitting at the counter. "It's alright Rachel. I can teach you too if you want."

She jokingly glares at me as Katie laughs. "I've missed having the two of you around all the time. The Palmwoods is so boring now that all of you are gone. Even Camille has moved out now that she has landed a couple big roles."

"Maybe you just need to make new friends," James says as he walks into the kitchen. He smiles at me as he sets down the tray of ribs before going behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, hands resting on the small baby bump that's forming. "Ribs are done. I don't know, they should probably sit for a bit."

I shrug as I lean my head back against his shoulder and put my hands over his. "Well we have like 10 minutes before the fries are done so that works."

Mama Knight smiles at us for a few seconds before turning to Katie. "You. Go set the table for us."

"Why do I have to do it?"

Rachel walks over to her and lightly grabs her arm and starts dragging her towards the French doors leading outside. "Because you're the youngest. But I'll help you."

James leans down and kisses me on the cheek. "I'm going to go get the guys and make sure they're not destroying our entire house."

I turn and kiss him briefly before he lets go of me and heads back into the living room while Mama Knight sits down on the stool across from me. "So how is everything going with the baby?"

"Things are great. I just had an appointment last week and the doctor said everything was going perfectly well." I pause for a second to look outside and see if everyone is ready, but the guys must still be inside. I turn back to Mama Knight as she's checking the food in the oven. "You know, it's hard to believe that I'm already a third of a way through this pregnancy."

She turns around and raises an eyebrow at me. "Trust me, the rest of it drags on forever. Just wait until you're carrying around a watermelon in your stomach."

"Oh believe me, I'm not looking forward to that. Especially because I'll be six months pregnant at Rachel's wedding."

"What about my wedding?" Rachel asks as she walks back into the kitchen.

"The fact that I'll have a basketball in my belly for it."

She raises her hands up in defense of herself. "Hey, I picked this date before I knew you were pregnant so it's not my fault. Blame James for being an idiot and getting you knocked up."

"Rachel that was one time we didn't use a condom!" I jokingly yell at her as Kendall's mom starts laughing next to us. "Sorry we got drunk one night while playing ridiculous games like strip poker."

I hear the door being opened and I look over to see Kendall paused in the door way. He just stares at us before walking back out. "I did not need to hear that."

The three of us burst out laughing and I lean my head on the counter, trying to control my laughter. Of course Kendall had to walk in right then when I said that. Oh well, it's not like he hasn't gotten drunk before and done ridiculous things.

"Okay I think everyone is waiting for us to eat," Mama Knight says once we finally calm down. I glance outside and see that Katie and the guys are all waiting at the table on the patio.

"It looks like it," I say before grabbing a plate of food. I walk outside, the others right behind me, and Carlos cheers in excitement at the sight of corn dogs. I have to move the tray around the guys as they try to attack it before I even set it on the table.

I sit down in the sit saved next to James and let out a sigh of relief at having made it there without getting tackled. "Hey," he says and kisses me on the cheek before getting a plate of food for me.

"Hey to you too," I smile at him before starting to eat.

We all talk for a while in between eating and it's so nice to have everyone together again. It almost feels like we haven't all left the Palmwoods and the guys are still in apartment 2J.

"So Rachel," Mama Knight says after she's finished eating and is relaxing. "When are you going to go shopping for your dress?"

She waves a hand at this and scoffs. "Oh I've already gotten that taken care of! Vera is making a gown custom made for me."

Katie puts her hands down on the table suddenly, making us jump, as she leans towards Rachel. "Vera Wang is making a wedding dress for you?"

"I've worked with Vera all the time and she said she was honored to make a dress for me." Rachel pauses and suddenly points over at me. "I even asked her to make Lauren a dress. It was the least I could do since she's going to have a watermelon belly at the wedding."

"Shut up!" I say and toss a french fry at her that she ducks to avoid.

"Hey, no insulting my wife's belly," James says and wraps an arm around me protectively.

I jokingly scoff at him acting all protective, even though I love it. "Hey, they're true. And you shouldn't be talking since you're the cause of this."

Logan speaks up from where he's sitting across from us. "Uh, last time I checked it takes two people to make a baby."

"Shut up!" James and I both say at the same time and we look at each other for a second before bursting out into laughter.

"Seriously, you two are perfect for each other," Katie says while we're still laughing.

"Obviously Katie," I say sarcastically to her. "Where have you been for the past three years?"

"Living at the Palmwoods while you guys are having fun living on your own," she says and stares accusingly at her mom.

Mama Knight gives Katie a look and she turns away. "Katie, you're only seventeen. You can't go live on your own yet." Katie grumbles something to herself and crosses her arms angrily.

"It's not that exciting. You have to cook for yourself," Carlos says in an attempt to cheer Katie up.

"Carlos, you don't cook at all. I cook most of the time," Rachel says to him and he just shrugs his shoulders.

I laugh at the silliness of my friends and shake my head, knowing that that is exactly what happens with them. "Except when you come over here. Then you just burn the food."

She just glares at me before turning to talk to Carlos. I laugh as I lean against James, resting my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close to him. I smile as I look at everyone sitting at the table, happy to have my closest family and friends with me right now. This is like a picture perfect moment, and I never want things to change between us.

**Hi so I'm not really happy with this chapter. It's a filler and it was boring for me to write so sorry if it was boring to you. But I was just having writer's block with this, like I know where I want it to go, but it's just the couple chapters before then that are difficult for me to write. There's just going to be one chapter before things really start to get interesting, so please, just stick with this story. I promise it will get way more exciting.**


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